


Help From Above

by charbax



Category: Paladins: Champions Of The Realm (Video Game)
Genre: Canon-Typical Violence, M/M, Major Character Injury, Minor Character Death, fussing over each other, he doesnt die tho lol, the unnamed enemies, vaguely game canon
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-26
Updated: 2019-02-26
Packaged: 2019-11-05 23:13:23
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,078
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17928194
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/charbax/pseuds/charbax
Summary: Entry for the Paladins Amino TrueLovers of the Realm challenge. Inspired by the tumblr post:'Person A is a sniper who always covers Person B in combat. One day, Person A loses sight of B in battle, panics, and jumps right into the chaotic fray. Person A then receives a long lecture after being rescued and patched up by Person B.'





	Help From Above

**Author's Note:**

> As mentioned, this was my entry for the Paladins Amino. Check me out on charbax.tumblr.com if u want more lol

Breathe in, aim. Breathe out, shoot. BANG. Strix allowed himself a moment to survey his target collapsing with a yell. Already, he’s reloading his rifle and tracking over the field for his next target – he passed over one of the Magistrate soldiers, noting the one wearing bright blue uniform jacket, and the surefire smile sent after the grenade he threw. Viktor’s still got it then, even in the thick of battle.

Strix shifted his attention to where the grenade landed. The enemies couldn’t scramble away fast from its blast radius, and their makeshift cover exploded in a shower of wood and rubble. In the chaos Strix picked off the ones wearing officer banners, one, two, three shots, his rifle clicking reassuringly between reloads. He didn’t bother with the troops. They’ll fall soon enough without a chain of command to follow. If they’re smart enough, they’ll regroup, but Strix doubted it.

What a team they were, him and Viktor, despite their differing personalities, or maybe, because of it. Viktor was comfortable leading from the frontlines – despite his fallen rank, soldiers still followed him simply because he was one of the first ones to act – providing much needed distraction whilst Strix covered them from his sniper’s nest.

(“My idea of help from above is a sniper on the roof.” Viktor had once remarked to a table of eager listeners at a bar. Strix couldn’t help the fond eyeroll nor the rising blush on his face.)

Strix gave an obligatory glance backwards for any would be assassins sent his way. Would be useful for a spotter right now. No use dwelling on could be’s however, he still had a number of VIPs to pick off. He returned his sights onto the battlefield – indeed, there was an enemy gunner revving up their machine gun. No doubt ready to cause trouble for the Magistrate ground troops.

Speaking of. Strix swept over to where he had seen the platoon last, seeing the soldiers moving forwards in a pack, but there wasn’t any blue-

Strix’s insides froze with fear. Where was Viktor? He should be leading them right into the fray, creating openings for them to storm through. Strix cursed underneath his breath as he swapped to his pistol and stealthed. Viktor, the fool, would have probably tried flanking behind the enemy lines in true wildcard style.

He climbed down the stairs, unnoticed by the soldiers just outside of his cubby. He took them down with precise shots, then moved to the next piece of cover before the bodies hit the ground. From there, it was only a blur of movement and gunshots – scan for the familiar figure of a foolhardy Viktor, shoot anybody not wearing the magistrate colours, stealth for cover, rinse and repeat. Occasionally though, even his stealth and sneaking isn’t enough, and he’s been caught. Nothing that a flashbang and smokebomb couldn’t solve.

Until it didn’t – it was a lucky shot, amateur even, by someone who was blind-sided. The shot barely grazed Strix’s side. He did not make the same mistake; he shot them back in the chest, but the damage had already been done, and his wound already bleeding profusely. He hissed as he hunched over his injury. But a still sniper was a dead sniper, he knew this. He just pressed his hand against it, ignoring the aching pain, and lurched towards where he saw last saw Viktor.

The Magistrate forces have already moved on, leaving nothing but bullet casings, and footsteps. Here, he allowed himself to lean against a wall and survey the carnage. There, a route half-covered by shadow, perfect for flanking. He pushed himself off the wall only to stumble forwards with a grunt as the pain flared up his side. There was no time for it, he’s got to find Viktor before someone else does, he was supposed to Viktor’s back, supposed to protect him-

A shadow moved down the path. Strix brought up his pistol, finger resting on the trigger, looking down the barrel to see Viktor also holding up his rifle. Viktor was quick to drop it to his side as his eyes widened. “Strix?! What’re doing here?”

“I-” Another hiss of pain interrupted him, prompting Viktor rush forwards and catch Strix before his face hit the dirt. “Lost track of you. Thought you went to take on a whole army by yourself.”

“So you risked your neck to tell me off?” Viktor said, half-hurried and half-affectionate. He pulled Strix’s arm around himself and started directing Strix to the nearby building, carrying most of his weight.

“No. Went to cover you.”

He felt rather than saw Viktor’s head shake. “And I thought I was the one with the bad decisions.”

Once they were inside, Viktor gently sat him down on one of the undamaged chairs, kneeling to the side to examine Strix’s wound more closely. “How did you get this? How bad is it?”

“A graze. A wild shot by someone who was already blinded.” Strix said. Another head shake, followed by a muttered ‘That doesn’t look like a graze to me,’ then Viktor was rifling through one of his many pouches for bandages and antiseptic, gently prying Strix’s hand away from the mess of blood and torn cloth.

“Abandoning your post sounds like something I would do, which, by definition, is also a bad thing. Careful, this’ll sting.” He warned as he wetted the bandage with the antiseptic and started dabbing at the wound. Even as Strix gave a slight hiss through his teeth, Viktor kept going with his lecture. “Seriously, what were you thinking? This could’ve been worse if that person wasn’t flashbanged, it could’ve been a shot in the stomach. Then we’ll be down a sniper and me, without my sweetheart. Was that your goal? Dying? That’s rude because that was my thing, thank you very much-”

Strix let the words and care wash over him in a slight haze, only concentrating on Viktor’s sure fingers wiping away the last of the mess and applying another bandage – dry this time – over the gunshot wound. It tingled slightly, from more than pain. Viktor’s warmth left his skin as Viktor sat back on his heels to survey his handiwork.

“...thanks anyway.” Viktor said quietly. He rose up and cradled Strix’s face with his hands, staring into his eyes. “As your squad member and your ex-commander, I’m still disappointed.”

“And as a lover?”

Viktor bent down and murmured his answer against Strix’s lips. “Touched.”


End file.
